The Royal Collection has one of the largest and finest collections of Venetian art from the first half of the eighteenth century. It includes paintings, prints and drawings by Canaletto himself, as well as those of his contemporaries, such as Sebastiano and Marco Ricci, Antonio Visentini, Francesco Zuccarelli and Giovanni Battista Piazzetta. These artists were patronised by Consul Smith and their works were later purchased by George III. This lavishly illustrated catalogue marks the first time that the rich holdings of eighteenth-century Venetian art in the Royal Collection will have been brought together, and focuses on presenting these extraordinary works against the background of the social and artistic networks of the period. Whilst displaying and analysing the brilliant works of Canaletto himself, including his cityscapes, capriccios and paintings of architecture, this catalogue also discusses the intimate interior of Venetian life, explores the links between artists and the theatre in Venice at this time and looks at Venice as a centre for printmaking and book production.

In Venice, on the Grand Tour in 1731, the future fourth Duke of Bedford met with the great art agent, Consul Joseph Smith. The commission he placed resulted in 24 of the greatest and most typical works of Canaletto. First installed in Bedford House London, they were moved to their splendid position in the Dining Room at Woburn in 1800, where they have remained ever since. Fully illustrated with many details, this publication marks the first time these paintings have been reproduced in colour. An extensive introduction by the leading Canaletto scholar Charles Beddington puts these works into perspective.--éd.

Famous series of paintings reproduced in contemporary engravings by Visentini. Wonderful view of 18th-century Venice; thorough text by J. Links. 50 illustrations.

View-painting in eighteenth-century Venice began with the emergence of Luca Carlevarijs and ended with the death of Francesco Guardi in 1793. This title presents an overview of the artists then working in the city, and draws on the latest research and scholarship to illuminate the complex stylistic relationships between them.

Through a group of masterpieces in the National Gallery Collection, which spans the artist's working life, and clusters of works relating to them, this book explores Canaletto's painting technique - the shorthand he developed for architectural detail and for figures, the way the skies and water are painted - and the larger question of his treatment of the topography of his native city. This selection of pictures - including contemporary maps and photographs of modern Venice, as well as sketchbooks, large detailed drawings, paintings and prints - takes the reader on a journey through Canaletto's Venice, along the Grand Canal from S. Simeone Piccolo and the upper reaches, past the Scuola di San Rocco to Palazzo Foscari and the Volta del Canal, on to the Carita and ending in St Mark's Square.